New Year’s Resolution: Civic Action to Fix Our Democracy

If the mean spirit of this year’s campaign upsets you or you’re worried about the lava of dark corporate and billionaire money corrupting our elections, consider one more New Year’s resolution: To get involved in civic action to rebuild government of, by and for the people.

There are active grassroots campaigns coast to coast fighting to make American democracy fairer and to give more voice to average voters, especially moderates and independents, and they’re eager for your support.

Large majorities of Americans are frustrated by gridlock and rancorous partisan warfare in Washington and the eclipse of the pragmatic middle in American politics. But sadly, most average voters don’t believe they have the power to fix our democracy.

That pessimism misses the inspiring stories of positive change that is already taking place, state by state, city by city, on a bipartisan or nonpartisan basis. Washington may be crippled by partisan warfare, but out in the country, reform is not a partisan issue. Across the board, people want our political system cleaned up.

The problem is that most Americans don’t think it’s possible. They don’t realize the promising prospects for political reform because the mainstream media gives that story short shrift. That’s why we’ve created the website reclaimtheamericandream.org – to share the positive news that people hunger for.

The Fight to Roll Back Citizens United

Take New Hampshire: Right now, this week, the Coalition for Open Democracy, Public Citizen and other civic groups are pressing the New Hampshire legislature to pass a resolution that calls for rolling back the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision and amending the Constitution to restore the power of Congress and the states to regulate campaign money.

The New Hampshire senate has already voted unanimously in favor, and if the house follows suit, that will add New Hampshire to the roll of 16 states and more than 500 cities that have already gone on record against Citizens United.

Across the country, in Washington State, another grassroots coalition led by WAmend has gathered 337,000 signatures for I-735, a citizens’ initiative which will give the voters a chance to decide next November on a referendum that instructs the state’s congressional delegation to press for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to restore the government’s power to regulate campaign funding.

Recent Stories by Hedrick Smith

Oregon is a pathfinder in making it easier for Americans to register and vote. It’s the first state to enact universal “Motor Voter” legislation, where the DMV automatically registers people as they apply for or renew their licenses.

The success of the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign and the failure of mega-millionaires to derail Donald Trump on the GOP side doesn't mean the Koch brothers and other big-dollar donors have been neutralized.